


sugar cubes & lucky numbers

by emoboijohnny



Category: K-pop, NCT (Band)
Genre: AU, Cute, M/M, Mentioned Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten, Nakamoto Yuta is Whipped, OT21 (NCT), OT23 (NCT), Taeyong Taeil Johnny are bffies, dance, hi im vivi, kpop, luck, lucky - Freeform, nct - Freeform, nct ten - Freeform, sicheng and ten are bffies, sicheng is a little shit, win win is a dancer lmao, yuta is in love, yuwin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:00:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 4,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22873633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emoboijohnny/pseuds/emoboijohnny
Summary: “ please, little papers hiding in cookie lining, let me know what to do...”sicheng loves to collect the little fortune cookies that come from yuta’s family’s bakery. one day yuta notices him at the bakery and begins to realize that it’s become tradition for sicheng to have one of their famous cookies each day. while making the cookies, yuta slips a secret, special fortune just for him, hoping that sicheng will notice the hardworking baker. sicheng starts to become curious, is this all a coincidence?
Relationships: Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Nakamoto Yuta
Comments: 4
Kudos: 76





	1. two cubes of sugar

**Author's Note:**

> hello, this is my first au. please be kind to me, I'm still kinda new to this <3

everyday sicheng finds himself wandering into the little old fashioned bakery next to his university.and everyday he orders the same drink. arabica beans; two cubes of sugar. no more, no less. he liked the taste of sweetness counteracting the bitterness; plus, it was also the cheapest option. the bakery served a fortune cookie with every beverage they sold, and if he was being honest, it was his favorite part of the deal. he loved collecting the papers inside the cookie. even if the fortunes were not meant to be taken seriously, it gave him some sort of hope and reassurance. sicheng was the type to resonate with what the universe threw at him. whether it be the flip of a coin or something as simple as a road detour, he took these signs to heart. it was in his nature to make a wish at 11:11; he needed that confirmation bias. he was the kind of person to ask for a sign, and receive it with grace. trusting his gut was the first thing he did, even when it was telling him something he didn’t want to hear. he lead with his heart, not his head, and sometimes, _some times,_ that was a problem.

yuta starts his morning every day at four am. a little too happy to add coffee beans to the machine; even happier to create the fortune cookies his family’s bakery was famously known for. it was his favorite part; hand-making the cookies and coming up with distinctive fortunes to send to the printer. what made his family’s cookies so famous was the fact that they created unique fortunes for each cookie. unique in a sense that all fortunes were written by the bakery, not sent to mass manufacturers. it was one that strived to impact your life. something to think about, personal to you. and thats what the bakery strived to do, create personal relationships with individuals. their bakery smelled like coffee and coming home to a place where you would always be welcomed. yuta had his whole life planned out ever since he turned ten. his goal was to inherit his family’s bakery and give his hardworking parents a break, get married by 30, have three kids, and eventually finish his degree. he stopped going to school a few weeks ago ever since his parents had trouble running the bakery by themselves. yuta was different. yuta was refreshing. yuta served to please. there was nothing more meaningful to him than to help out and provide his hand to others even if he was the one that needed it the most. yuta was a little logical at times which caused him to lead with his head even though he so desperately wanted to lead with his heart, and sometimes, _some times,_ that was a problem.

yuta jumps at the sound of little bells, its only been a month since he quit school to begin this job yet he still can’t get used to hearing bells first thing in the morning. his family decided on bells at the main door instead of an electronic door sensor because “ _every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings”._ yuta looks up and greets the guy walking in. he begins to recognize the familiarity in the boy and puts two and two together.

“good morning! you’re the two cubes of sugar guy, didn’t know you’d be a regular.” yuta greets, sicheng startled by his voice. soft yet affirmative.

“uh, yeah, i guess i’m a regular now…good morning.” sicheng answers back, not sure how someone could be so lively this early. sicheng is a shy dancer. if it wasn’t for his joy of practicing in an empty dance studio, he’d be in bed, pulling the cover over his face to block out the sun.

“so the usual?…” yuta pauses, not wanting to refer to him as the _two cubes of sugar guy_. sicheng acts on cue realizing he’s subtlety asking for his name.

“sicheng,… its sicheng-” he responds, looking at yuta’s name tag. “i’m guessing you are yuta…” even his name sounded assertive; bisyllabic.

“yep, that’s me, what can i get for you, sicheng?”

“i’ll have the regular I suppose.”

“3,600 won, please” yuta smiles and takes sicheng’s card. _sicheng_ notices yuta's fingers. slender and clean; perfectly manicured, yet strong and well defined. _yuta_ notices sicheng’s eyes focusing on his hand; curious and fixated. alluring and deep. he gives the card back, offers another healing smile, and watches sicheng walk to a table. there’s something so interesting about him, and yuta was curious. he grinds the coffee beans and attempts to make sicheng his coffee. he pours the fresh coffee carefully into a cup, drops two sugar cubes in, and picks out a fortune cookie from the basket to place on the saucer. he takes the plate and places it in front of sicheng.

“i hope you enjoy sicheng!” yuta smiles, sicheng awkwardly returning the gesture. yuta goes back to the counter and begins to fold the fortunes into the cookies. he looks up through his bangs and sees sicheng breaking the cookie. sicheng eats the entire cookie and then squeezes his eyes shut, almost as if he’s hoping for guidance before reading the fortune.

and that was exactly what sicheng was looking for.


	2. sigh of relief

sicheng reads the cookie and lets out a sigh of relief. _you’re on the right path, you’re doing great._ he likes this bakery's fortune cookies the most. he sees them as affirmation cookies and once again, that’s what sicheng craved the most. lately, he’s been wondering if moving to seoul was the best decision career wise. he wanted to become a professional dancer, _a very beautiful one._ he was given the opportunity to practice and learn at one of the most competitive art universities here in south korea. the only problem was that it's over a thousand miles away from his home, and sicheng was the type to get homesick and lonesome easily. but nevertheless, he followed his heart and decided to attend. he’s been at the university for about two semesters now and knew that everything was okay, yet today he just needed something to reassure him. and he got what he was looking for.

yuta notices the sigh of relief. _everyone in the bakery_ heard it too _._ yuta smiles. he catches himself staring at sicheng pulling out a little pouch. he notices the other little slips of paper stuffed into the pouch. sicheng shoves the newest one in with the rest and holds the pouch to his chest. lightly smiling. yuta knew the fortune cookies were nice, but he didn’t know they were _comforting_. yuta greets the next customer at the cash register.

sicheng stirs the last of his coffee. taking in the aroma; ready to start his day. he puts the cup neatly on the saucer and leaves the bakery, fortune in heart.

he walks to his university and enters the studio. he’s always amazed with how big and beautiful it is. the studio was always inviting. he goes to the dressing room and changes into something flexible. although he _hated_ waking up early, he _loved_ dancing early. the studio was lonely at this hour, and so was sicheng. both found each other in good company. he connects his phone to the speaker and queues up his score. _mariage d’amour; paul de senneville._ he imagines himself at the end of winter, longing for spring to come. he was connected with his art, even at times when it was emotionally draining.

he dances.


	3. yuta is just the baker.

the bakery is at its busiest around noon. everyone from nearing offices and university students always raid the bakery for their afternoon lunch. yuta liked when the bakery was the busiest. he was a hardworking man who enjoyed the fast-pace life. it gave him something to do instead of getting lost in his thoughts. however, today was different. he felt sick. something felt off. he wasn’t working as fast as he wanted to, and he found himself getting annoyed when a customer took too long or when the espresso machine got jammed for the second time in the hour. he found sicheng clouding his mind.

how soft his lips looked. _yuta_.

how he squeezed his eyes shut before reading something yuta wrote. _yuta-_

how delicate his sigh sounded, technically, he was the one that caused euphoric relief...

_yuta, stop_.

he doesn’t know why. why today of all days? why did sicheng stay on his mind? sicheng has been to the bakery before, but why did this impression last? things like this don’t always happen to yuta. yuta stays focused. yuta lets it go. sicheng is a regular customer. and yuta,

- _yuta_ , is just the baker. he continues his work.

sicheng finished his practice earlier, and currently is in his dorm. he’s studying and finishing some homework before his roommate ten comes back. ten is one of sicheng’s friends in the university, and he’s also a dancer. they were both scouted out by the university to attend the dance program. both of them left their homes on a leap a faith. ten understood sicheng, and sicheng understood ten. _they had each other_ to lean on; they were comfortable.

ten, sicheng, and a couple of their other friends were going to go grab dinner and some drinks, possibly keeping their options open for the club. sicheng wasn’t that much of a club kind of guy, but with enough alcohol, he could forget his worries and his homesickness would momentarily disappear.

he waits for ten to come back.

the bakery closes at seven p.m. and yuta is finishing the last few tasks before calling it a day. his phone buzzes in the pocket of his apron. its his friend, _taeyong_.

“..hello?” yuta answers knowing damn well that taeyong only calls when he wants to go out.

“yuta! come over to my place! johnny, taeil, and xuxi want to grab some drinks at the club, its been a while since we’ve had some fun…”, taeyong invites yuta.

yuta hesitates; taeyong begs knowing yuta’s weakness. he can’t ever say no.

yuta agrees and they get excited. taeyong tells him to meet at his apartment around nine.

yuta goes home to nap and change into clothes he feels confident in. he wears a black fitted shirt and light blue jeans with a torn hole on the knee. he throws on his checkered vans and layers necklaces on to match his earrings. cold and silver. he makes sure that he has his wallet and some gum. he takes the bus to taeyong’s apartment.


	4. yuta, why are your knuckles white and pale?

yuta gets to taeyong’s apartment and notices all of them already slightly intoxicated. _great._ yuta already knows how this is gonna end. normally when the boys plan to hang it always ends up with yuta and johnny becoming their babysitters.

“yutaa! you’re here! are you ready or did you want a-," xuxi offers him a beer, yuta doesn’t let xuxi finish his sentence. he takes the beer. yuta chugs the beer like his life depended on it. he _did not_ want to be the babysitter this time. _sorry johnny_.

he reaches for another beer but taeyong stops him.

“let’s wait for the club!” taeyong says.

“how about we just have a kickback here instead of going out?” yuta suggests, they hesitate. their minds focused on going out. “ _guys?_..” they stare at yuta. “i’ll buy more drinks and pizza...!” yuta says. each boy slowly agreeing. easy to adapt and easier to convince. 

\--------

taeil orders three boxes of pizza and puts it on yuta’s tab while yuta and johnny walk to the local convenience store. they take a pack of beer, but yuta wants something stronger. he looks at the liquor in the back shelf behind the cashier. johnny glances at yuta glancing at the shiny glass bottles.

“ah. so i see, i knew it, is something wrong ?” johnny questions, he smirks. looking at yuta looking at him.

“nothing really i’ve just been kinda out of it...” yuta bites back, bothered that johnny's assumption is right. he puts the pack of beer near the register, asking the cashier for a bottle of vodka from the back. yuta pays. johnny lets it go.

yuta turns around to hand johnny the box of beer. they walk out, yuta tries to convince johnny to work at his cafe. conversation filler, he wants to preoccupy johnny's mind. they turn the corner, and yuta sees something. _someone._ fuck. yuta sees a familiar thin boy walking with... _another person?_

yuta doesn't realize that he's clenching the bottle. his knuckles; white and pale. _wait_. why is yuta feeling this way. _yuta_?...

_he’s not yours and he never will be. let it go._

johnny notices. johnny senses the tension. johnny brings it up.

“yuta? what’s up, why are you-“

yuta cuts him off and starts to walk faster. he can feel his emotions but he chooses to ignore. they are not rational. yuta does not know sicheng in that way. why is he letting this bother him. 

“johnny i’ll explain when we get home, for now please. please, don’t make it obvious that something is wrong.”

johnny swears. yuta bites the inside of his cheek. 

they walk. they get closer to the familiar boy and his friend.

_yuta, stop._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)


	5. you can't always be strong, but you can always be brave.

ten finally goes back to the dorm a little later than expected. sicheng hears the key fumble. sicheng is a little irritated that ten came home a little late. sicheng is more punctual than most so he decides not to let it bother him.

ten walks in.

“sicheng..i did something …” ten stammers, sicheng sighs. ten isn’t drunk, his mind is elsewhere.

“what happened are you okay?” sicheng already knows what happened.

_“i broke up with them”_

ten stops breathing, he finds his way onto sicheng’s lap.

he struggles to catch his breath.

_he tries_.

sicheng comforts his friend, rubbing tiny circles on his back.

ten was not in the best relationship. and they both knew nothing was going to change unless he was the one who removed himself from the situation. ten is brave but right now, he’s not strong. and thats what sicheng was there for. to hold him together even when another thing breaks.

ten sobs on sicheng’s shoulder. his cries are loud, and sicheng feels the fabric on his shoulder grow cold. ten only stops crying to gasp for air every so often. ten clings onto sicheng like it's the first time he’s had any type of genuine human touch.

it’s not easy to leave someone you still love.

you hold remorse for yourself during, but you realize that you should always come first;

you can’t make other people love you the way you want them to,

_you-_

_have to give yourself that love_.

they sit there together for about an hour. and right when sicheng thinks ten is done crying, he sniffles, and then he’s screaming once again right in sicheng’s chest. sicheng feels his emotion literally in the heart of his chest. he tries to absorb it as much as he could, he wants immunity, and right here, _in this moment_ , sicheng decides that if he’s ever going to fall in love,

he wants to invest his entire being in it.

_what is love if you don’t risk a piece of yourself leaving?_

ten and sicheng don’t talk about what happened. instead, they get ready and decide to go to the convenience store instead of the club. sicheng hates it when ten craves alcohol, but this time, he understands.

they start walking to the store, hand in hand.

sicheng promises to buy ten whatever he wants.

sicheng can’t buy ten the relationship he deserves, but he _can_ comfort him.

they continue to walk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello!
> 
> I'm so sorry for not being consistent with this fic... I haven't forgotten about it though!
> 
> I hope to update this fic again later this week and update at least once a week.
> 
> I hope you have the best day/night wherever you are ^^
> 
> thank you for reading 🥺
> 
> love, vivi


	6. like water, you will transcend.

“do you think that things are meant to happen the way they do?” ten questions. he was a philosophical person, just like sicheng. trying to make reason of things that occur in their lives.

sicheng pauses and thinks hard about that question. he agrees with ten, not caring for logic. everything in sicheng’s life seems to make sense because he gives it a meaning and connection.

they stop at the bench by the convince store. the bench overlooks a small river and sicheng sits.

ten looks at the river and all of the little minor things around him. each living their own lives. he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. he feels the cold wind on his tear-stained cheeks. it stings. he sees the reflection of the busy city in the river. he feels himself slowly letting go of all the hurt and tension. sicheng keeping an eye on him from afar, giving ten the space he needs. ten feels himself tearing up, he allows himself to cry all he wants. he doesn’t care if he’s in public. the night blankets him, letting him know that its okay.this is the last time he will let himself cry over people who don’t cry over him. ten is slowly beginning to see his worth. his cheeks grow colder. water is fluid, like the river in front of him, and the tears behind his eyelashes. we are always changing as people; ten tries to swallow that pill. its going to take time but it's okay. as long as he trusts that time heals all. 

sicheng watches ten watching the water. he walks up to both souls.

he uses the sleeve of his sweater to wipe the tears under ten’s cheek. sicheng raises a finger under ten’s chin and reaffirms him that

he too, _like water,_ will transcend.

little lotus flowers are seeded in ten’s river, but he doesn’t know it yet.

sicheng grabs ten’s hand and they finally reach the convenience store entrance. they feel stable.

except

sicheng feels someone staring at him.

sicheng looks closer.

_-it couldn’t be_

the guy notices sicheng squinting, the man smiles.

_it’s yuta._

he recognizes his smile; the smile shines even in the darkest ambiance.

however,

even though he smiles,

his eyes look sad.

_sicheng realizes._

ten feels sicheng squeeze his hand tightly; his fingers start to turn purple and cold, his knuckles fade.

ten lets go.

he looks up at sicheng and sicheng looks confused. he's still looking at the man, ten pulls his arm and leads him into the store.

sicheng’s eyes on yuta, yuta’s eyes on ten.


	7. finally, after three agonizing days....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im so sorry this is so late I dont know if I will be continuing this fic anymore, I have no idea what to do D:
> 
> -love, vivi.

every time the bells ring at the entrance yuta catches himself wishing for sicheng to walk through the door. sicheng hasn’t been to the bakery in three days and yuta slowly finds himself going mad. _who was that person with sicheng? why is this is upsetting him?_ yuta sighs as he pours batter into a fortune cookie press. he’s made about 4 dozen today and it’s only been a few hours since the bakery has opened. yuta sighs again as he adds the slip of paper between the hot cookie, carefully folding and pressing each one. he decides he’s made enough cookies for the moment, and walks to the front counter fixing the other pastries. lining them up and making them presentable. little pies and muffins are lined up at the front of the glass case,illuminated by the lights. the bell rings and yuta looks up on instinct. _...sicheng?_

sicheng has been avoiding the bakery on purpose. he doesn’t owe yuta an explanation for anything, it’s not like they are anything, much less friends. just acquaintances. but he does feel bad. he decides to go to the bakery with ten.

ten holds sicheng’s hand all the way to the bakery. ten is excited to go out, even just for a trip to the bakery. they enter and sicheng’s eyes meet yuta’s. he looks away then looks back. yuta smiles. sicheng gives a faint smile back. yuta’s smile slowly fades as soon as he sees ten. ten is crouched down in front of the pastry display. his face is illuminated by the lights.

_who is he?_ yuta’s mind wanders.

“hey! welcome back! what can i get started for you today?”, yuta keeps his cool. sicheng just stares. yuta doesn't want to admit to himself that he missed seeing sicheng's face. 

“what do you recommend!” ten asks enthusiastically, he’s genuinely curious. yuta fakes a smile. he knows its wrong to not like ten because he hardly knows him, but he cant help but feel a tad bit jealous.

_but yuta, you have no reason to be jealous, sicheng is not yours._

yuta recommends ten a cappuccino and the banana bread he baked not that long ago, ten agrees to try it.

“and for you, sicheng?” yuta continues, “2 cubes of sugar…?”

sicheng nods, and ten looks at him completely clueless. _how do they know each other?_

sicheng covers the cost and yuta gives them a number to keep at their table. ten and sicheng find a table. sicheng is having a difficult time looking up at ten. ten is waiting on sicheng to tell him about yuta and why yuta knows sicheng well enough to memorize his order. ten’s gaze intensifies.


	8. this better work.

sicheng explains to ten that this bakery has been his go-to spot ever since he’s moved here. he proceeds to tell ten that yuta is fairly new at this job, but he has a good memory. not to mention, he is a people person. sicheng wants to tell ten about how they actually ran into yuta the other day, but he leaves that part out. he doesn’t feel the need to, instead he just sips his coffee hoping that ten doesn’t ask any further questions. ten is suspicious, but lets it go.

to be frank, sicheng doesn’t know what to do. it’s not like he owes yuta an explanation for anything. there was nothing to say really. there’s just this awkward tension between them, and sicheng has no idea why.

“are you gonna eat this” ten asks, practically already grabbing the fortune cookie on sicheng’s saucer. sicheng gasps and snatches the cookie out of ten’s hand.

“i thought you knew me well enough to know that this is my favorite part.” sicheng pouts.

ten finally realizes where sicheng gets all of these fortune slips. he finds them all over their dorm, in the most random places too. gym bags, laundry baskets, the pantry. he was fixing sicheng’s bed one time and found two under his pillow. not to mention the ones he found in the washer’s lint trap. _god_. maybe sicheng hides them in random places just to test his fate.

“so this is where you feed your collection..” ten smirks.

“shut up, this humbles me. would you rather have me collect… i don’t know… teeth or something? _open wide ten_!” sicheng teases and they laugh. sicheng quickly eats the cookie and saves the slip in his pocket to read for later. they are in a rush to get to class, having only five minutes to run across the street, to the classroom, and into a seat. 

ten says something about giving sicheng his old retainer, still teasing the teeth idea. sicheng punches his arm and they giggle out the door.

yuta waits a few minutes after they leave to clean up their table. he grabs a rag from the back and sighs, he wish he said something more to sicheng. he walks closer to the table and finds a phone right next to sicheng’s empty cup. he stops and looks around. _could this be sicheng’s phone?_ normally a customer comes rushing right back to the bakery when they forgot something but its been a few minutes and there is no sign of sicheng or his friend. yuta decides to pick it up and finds a little pouch under the phone. the same pouch he remembers sicheng holding close to his heart the last time he saw him in the bakery. he picks up both items and holds onto it in his apron knowing that it would be in a safer spot until sicheng comes back for it.

yuta would be lying if he said he can’t wait to possibly see sicheng later. he knows it’s wrong of him to thank the heavens for giving him a second chance to talk to sicheng under this circumstance, but at least he found his phone before someone else did... _right?_ yuta plans on making a move but how. it’s now or never. he continues to wipe the table when suddenly an idea comes to him.

please let this work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been a while heh... I hope you enjoy this chapter. sorry I made you wait, do forgive me ;)


	9. "you’re so hot, the way you..." -thoughts to keep to myself

the bakery hasn’t been that busy or crowded today. yuta served a few people and only had to refill the coffee grinder twice. he takes it upon him to take his break. he normally takes his fifteen minute break when the bakery isn’t busy, he doesn’t want his parents to work more than they have to. he slips into the back and stares at the printing machine. normally, when yuta thinks of what messages to include in the cookies it doesn’t take this long. he wants to make sicheng a special fortune cookie to give him when he comes to collect his phone. I mean, yeah it sounded kinda middle school, like a giddy school kid writing his crush a valentine, but yuta doesn’t know how else to discreetly let sicheng know that he’s _kinda_ into him.

yuta thinks.

it’s not like he can just write _“you’re so hot, the way you lick your lips after drinking your coffee makes me weak in the knees.”_ it’s too long, and borderline creepy. yuta didn’t even know where that thought came from.

he’s lost in thought when suddenly he feels a buzz coming from his apron. he reaches for his phone thinking it’s probably just taeyong calling him again to come over, but he realizes that its coming from sicheng’s phone. he debates pulling it out to see who’s calling. that would be an invasion of privacy and yuta isn’t nosy. _but what if its his mom?_ yuta thinks about his mom. she’d be worried if yuta didn’t answer his phone. he hesitates, but eventually pulls out sicheng’s phone to see who it is. a bright picture of the boy sicheng was with earlier today flashes on the screen.

_oh._

from the contact name, he assumes this boy goes by _ten_. yuta debates whether to answer it or not, but by the time he comes to the conclusion the vibrating stops and the phone turns off. yuta slips the phone back into his apron and goes back to what he was doing before. before yuta is able to turn back to the printer, sicheng’s phone rings again. it’s ten. yuta picks it up.

“hello?”

“hey, hello! oh thank god someone answered.” ten sighs as he recognizes the voice over the phone knowing it belongs to the baker.“my friend has been looking for his phone and i’m pretty sure i know where it is now.” ten fakes an awkward laugh. 

they continue to talk and ten says sicheng will be over in a little.

yuta kinda wished to have heard sicheng’s voice over the line, he was curious about how it would sound, _for personal reasons..._

but hey, at least he’ll for sure see sicheng in a while.

yuta catches himself smiling. he’s not sure why he’s suddenly so anxious to see sicheng. he doesn’t even know why he’s so attracted to him. sicheng is beyond beautiful, anyone could tell, but

is it okay to be this excited over someone who you don’t even know?

he turns to the computer, and opens the fortune template document.

he decides on just typing his number into one of the boxes. simple, yet effective. he hits print, and rushes to the printer. he collects the paper and begins to roll out a piece of dough, carefully placing the slip in the center. he folds the cookie and waits for it to harden.

he sighs and begins to stress clean the pastry display's windows again. he's never really gave anyone his number before, much less even tried to shoot his shot. 


End file.
